Sakura Wars (Franchise)
Sakura Wars (サクラ大戦 Sakura Taisen) is a Japanese multimedia franchise created by Oji Hiroi, and is developed by Sega and Red Entertainment. The franchise began as a series of video games, first released on the Sega Saturn video game console in 1996. As the series grew in popularity it was expanded to other markets such as manga, animation, a stage show, drama CD's, and food products. Overview Sakura Wars (サクラ大戦 Sakura Taisen) is a Japanese media franchise created by Ouji Hiroi, and is developed by Sega and Red Entertainment. It includes video games and other merchandise. The franchise centers on a series of fantasy and science-fantasy dramatic adventure video games, which consist of a tactical wargame and dating sim, but includes a motion picture, anime, printed media, and other merchandise. The series began in 1996 as an eponymous video game; the game was a success and spawned sequels. The video game series has since branched into other genres and platforms, such as portable games and games for mobile phones. Video games Main series *''Sakura Taisen'' ("Sakura Wars") (1996) *''Sakura Taisen 2: Kimi Shinitamou koto Nakare'' ("Prithee Do Not Die") (1998) *''Sakura Taisen 3 ~Pari wa Moeteiru ka~'' ("Is Paris Burning?") (2001) *''Sakura Taisen 4 ~Koi Seyo, Otome~'' ("Fall in Love, Maidens") (2002) *''Sakura Taisen V: So Long, My Love'' (Sakura Taisen V ~Saraba, Itoshiki Hito yo~) (2005) *''Sakura Wars (2019)'' Main series prequels and side stories *''Hanagumi Taisen Columns'' (1997) *''Hanagumi Taisen Columns 2'' (2000) *''Sakura Taisen GB ~Geki • Hanagumi Nyuutai!~'' ( "Go Forth—Flower Division Enlist!") (2000) *''Sakura Taisen GB2 ~Thunder Bolt Sakusen~'' ("Operation Thunder Bolt") (2001) *''Sakura Taisen Monogatari ~Mysterious Paris~'' ("Sakura Wars Story ~Mysterious Paris~") (2004) *''Sakura Taisen V Episode 0 ~Kouya no Samurai Musume~'' ("The Samurai Girl from the Wild West") (2004) *''Dramatic Dungeon: Sakura Wars'' ("Because you are here") (2008) Smartphone Games * Sakura Wars: The Legend Begins (사쿠라 대전: 전설 의 시작) * Sakura Wars: Cherry Blossom Song (사쿠라 대전: 벚꽃 의 노래) Cancelled * Sakura Wars MMO (サクラ大戦MMO) (tentative name) the release was announced in ChinaJoy only in China in July 2006, but was canceled in June 2007 due to Sega's withdrawal from the online game business in China. * Sakura Taisen World project (サクラ大戦ワールドプロジェクト) related work-the title that the release was announced in the Sakura Taisen World project of 2002. For several years, it was on the release calendar, but no subsequent updates were made, and it was removed from the calendar. Sakura kura Wars Story Imperial City, KOUMA / Demon (tentative name), Sakurahime Nishiki picture scroll * Sakura Wars Taisho Roman Gakuen Tan (サクラ大戦 太正浪漫学園譚) (online game) * As of August 2013, the official website will be broken without being updated. Anime *''Sakura Taisen: Ouka Kenran'' *''Sakura Taisen: Gouka Kenran'' *[[Sakura Wars (TV Series)|''Sakura Taisen (TV Series)]] *[[Sakura Wars: The Movie|''Sakura Wars: The Movie]] *''Sakura Taisen: Sumire'' *''Sakura Taisen: Ecole de Paris'' *''Sakura Taisen: Le Nouveau Paris'' *''Sakura Wars: New York NY'' *''Project Sakura Wars'' Critical and Commercial Reception The Sakura Wars series sold over 3 million units in Japan by early 2002, and over 4.5 million units by 2010. The original Saturn version of Sakura Taisen sold 360,000 copies in Japan in 1996, and sold out within hours of its release, recording the biggest sales as a Sega Saturn original title. Sakura Taisen 2 later sold more than 500,000 units in Japan during its first week on sale in 1998, making it the second best selling dating game of all time in Japan. When Sakura Taisen 2 was released, it was the current number one most popular game in Japan according to Famicom Tsuushin. The Dreamcast ports of the first two Sakura Taisen games additionally sold around 100,000 copies each in 2000, while the third and fourth Sakura Taisen games sold around 300,000 copies each for the Dreamcast in 2001 and 2002, respectively. The PlayStation 2 version of the original Sakura Taisen also sold an additional 236,000 copies in 2003. According to Famitsu's 1996 top ten wanted list, Sakura Taisen scored second place just below Final Fantasy VII. The game went on to win the Game of the Year prizes at the CESA Awards and Semi-Grand Prix Awards in 1997. Sakura Taisen later ranked #13 place in the Famitsu's 100 all-time favorite games list. The first four'' Sakura Taisen'' games all made Japan’s “Top 100 Games of all time” as voted by fans. Famitsu gave Sakura Taisen V a 37/40 (10 / 10 / 9 / 8) score. In Japan, Sakura Taisen V was the 91st best selling game in 2005. In 2009, Sakura Taisen scored first place in the Famitsu list of most wanted game sequels of all times. In 2010, Sakura Shinguji ranked 17th place in Famitsu's reader poll of top 50 best video game characters. She is one of the highest-ranking female characters on the list, below Amaterasu from Ōkami and Yuna from Final Fantasy X. Video = Sakura Taisen OVAs 1997 - Opening Geki! Teikoku Kagekidan Notes and references Category:Franchise